Europe midday: Stocks push higher on the back of oil price gains

European stocks are being buoyed by a rising tide in crude oil markets with a small dip in the euro also helping to relieve some of the previous day's selling pressure.

As of 1237 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was higher by 0.76% or 2.90 points to 382.05, while the German Dax was gaining 0.65% or 79.73 points to trade at 12,517.78, alongside gains of 0.90% or 46.13 points to 5,186.78 in France's Cac-40.

Oil&Gas shares were spearheading the advance, with the Stoxx 600 gauge for the group up by 1.35% to 288.39.

Nonetheless, traders' focus continued to be firmly on central banks, with a decision from Bank of Canada due at 1500 BST, followed by US central bank chair Janet Yellen's semi-annual report on Monetary Policy to the US House of Representatives's Financial Services Committee.

Commenting on Yellen's upcoming testimony, Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said: "Speculation has continued to grow as to the timing of when the Federal Reserve could start to pare down its balance sheet and whether this process would happen alongside the prospect of further rate rises.

"Such a move would in all probability be a little on the risky side, tightening policy from two different directions, and will be a process the Fed will need to be able to communicate effectively in the coming months."

Euro area industrial production leaped by 1.3% month-on-month in, easily beating forecasts for a rise of 0.6%.

On a related note, in an interview published on Wednesday French finance minister Edouard Philippe predicted the country's economy would expand at a 1.6% clip in 2017 followed by growth of 1.7% in 2018.

Still on the economic calendar as well was the Fed's Beige book at 1900 BST.

Shares in Premier Oil shot higher after announcing an oil strike at Zama-1 well offshore Mexico.

Engineering services group Bilfiger launched a profit warning, its first in two years.

German lender Deutsche Bank hived off a 5.5% stake in Heidelberger Druckmaschinen.

China's Fosun was still maintaining contacts aimed at possibly picking up a stake in French ski resorts and amusement parks operator Compagnie des Alpes, one of its directors said, with a few other consumer goods companies also on its radar.